Colombo, March 28: Sri Lankan officials hurriedly evacuated the eastern town of Trincomalee late on Monday amid fears of a tsunami following an earthquake off Indonesia, a top presidential aide said.

"We received a call from Trincomalee... We were told sirens are going, which means an evacuation is taking place," Eric Fernando, Director-General of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's Policy Research and Information Unit told Reuters.

"There are already two ministers at the President's house," Fernando added.

There was no answer from Sri Lanka's National Disaster Management Centre.

Around 40,000 people were killed along Sri Lanka's south, east and northern coasts by December's tsunami and more than 500,000 people are still displaced, living in tents or with relatives and friends.